Midnight Eclipse
by Sheori
Summary: Similar to how Midnight Sun is about Twilight in Edward's POV, this is my version of Eclipse in Edward's POV
1. Overheard Conversations

Disclaimer- I do not own Eclipse or any of the other Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does.

**I am still working on my other story but I have had this stored away in my computer for months. So I decided I might as well throw it out here and see if it's any good. This was my favorite book of the series, and as soon as I read it I started working on this. I divided the chapters a little so they will be easier to write, and I can post the second part to this chapter soon. I will continue if anyone wants me to, so please review and tell me if it is any good. I know there are other stories out there like this, but I've had this written for a long time. Tell me if you think there's hope for it.**

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**Chapter 1**

Time always seemed to creep by so slowly around this time everyday. It was not even six, I still had over an hour until I could go see her. Bella, the only girl I had ever loved. The girl I almost lost forever. I would never be able to forgive myself for almost losing her, so I felt having to follow Charlie's rules and not be with her a few hours a day wasn't even enough punishment for me. But Bella still didn't deserve it.

I still could never forget the memory of her face as I lied to her, telling her she was no good for me. The pain I had put on her was unbearable for me to think about. My fists clenched automatically, and my unnecessary breathing rate increased as I become more and more furious with myself again. I also felt even worse because sitting alone, suffering hours without Bella was one thing, but I knew Bella was waiting for me too, waiting for the limited hours we could spend together now.

Actually I was only supposed to be able to see her in school and from seven to nine-thirty. But being able to quietly and easily climb through a window had its advantages. I still pretended to leave, but only went out a little ways in the woods to hunt or run and pass the time until Charlie went to bed. Then I would go through the window to see Bella at night, and watch her sleep.

I started pacing now, usually it was all too easy to stand motionless in one spot, but the anxiety of waiting to go show Bella I wasn't going to leave her again was starting to eat at me. I looked at my watch and scowled when I saw it was only ten after six. I headed out of my room and flew downstairs to my piano, deciding I would play a little to pass some time. The house was relatively quiet and empty. Carlisle had to work late at the hospital tonight, and Esme, Alice, and Jasper had gone hunting. This only left Rosalie and Emmett on the couch half of their attention on the TV, and the other half on each other. I was not in the mood to hear what they were thinking, and did my best not to hear their thoughts.

I started playing Esme's favorite song, my fingers hitting the correct notes with no difficulty. I played some of my other favorite songs, relaxing more and more with my music. I was finishing Bella's favorite song, her lullaby, absentmindedly when I looked at the time again. Six-thirty, that was close enough to head over. I grabbed the envelope I needed to bring, and flew out the door.

I ran at full speed enjoying the run, and also becoming more excited to be going where I was going. Coming up to the house I began to hear a conversation between Bella and Charlie, and as I got closer I was able to hear Bella's voice. But I couldn't quite hear Charlie's mind, his thoughts were usually quiet and jumbled. I always guessed Bella had at least partly inherited her silent mind from him.

"I'm confused, Dad. Are we talking about Jacob, Edward, or me being grounded?" I heard Bella say.

"Sort of all three", Charlie sounded pleased.

"And how do you relate", I knew Bella well enough that I could tell she was being careful how she said things, not bringing her hopes up too high that she might actually be released from her house arrest early.

I was at the house now. There was still about twenty minutes until I could show myself, but I was very satisfied with listening to the conversation inside, even though I did feel a bit rude for eavesdropping. I could almost hear Charlie though, now that I was closer.

"Okay" he sighed. I could tell from his thoughts he was afraid of Bella's reaction to what his conditions were going to be. "So I'm thinking maybe you deserve parole for good behavior. For a teenager you're amazingly non-whiny".

"Seriously? I'm free?", She going to let her hopes up and believe she might have early freedom.

"Conditionally". I searched his mind for the condition and almost groaned. There would be no way I would risk Bella's safety to allow her to see _him._ I wished he would change his mind about this condition.

"Fantastic", Bella sounded as discouraged as I felt, but for a different reason.

"Bella, this is more of a request than a demand, Okay? You're free. But I'm hoping you'll use that freedom...Judiciously."

"What does that mean?"

I heard him sigh again, I could hear in his thoughts how apprehensive he was to say what he was about to say. "I know you're satisfied to spend all your time with Edward-"

"I spend time with Alice too."

"That's true. But you have other friends besides the Cullens, Bella. Or you used to." There was a long pause. "When was the last time you spoke to Angela Weber?"

"Friday at lunch", she answered quickly. Angela was one of Bella's few friends that still talked to her. I liked Angela, she had a good respectful mind. She even got over her discomfort of sitting by Alice and me so she could sit with Bella and still be friends.

"Outside of school?", Charlie asked, even though he should have known the answer.

"I haven't seen anyone outside of school, Dad. Grounded. remember? And Angela has a boyfriend, too. She's always with Ben. If I'm really free, maybe we could double."

"Okay, but then...", he was hesitating again, "You and Jake used to be joined at the hip, and now-" I realized I was holding my breath. I really didn't want to think about how Jacob was Bella's only comfort once. I began to feel the familiar jealousy towards him, jealousy how _I _should have been the only person to be able to comfort Bella. At the same time, the all too familiar regret returned. Besides that, it was far too dangerous for Bella to visit werewolves alone. I was not able to go with her to protect her if I didn't want to start a war.

"Can you just get to the point, Dad? What's your condition- exactly?"

"I don't think you should dump all your other friends for your boyfriend, Bella. It's not nice, and I think your life would be better balanced if you kept some other people in it. What happened last September..."

Through his eyes, I saw Bella flinch at the same time I did. Both of us remembering my stupid attempt to keep her safe, and the consequences that followed.

"Well", he continued defensively,"If you'd had more of a life outside of Edward Cullen, it might not have been like that."

"It would have been exactly like that."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"The point?", She sounded more impatient now.

"Use your new freedom to see your other friends, too. Keep it balanced", he said still leaving out part of his thoughts, the thoughts I wished he would just leave out.

"Do I have specific time quotas to fill, though?"

I saw him shake his head. "I don't want to make this complicated. Just don't forget your friends...Particularly Jacob", he finally got out the part he had been nervous to say, and I dreaded him saying. It was a condition Bella was not going to fulfill.

"Jacob might be...difficult", I hoped the apprehension I heard in her voice was because she was thinking of the danger she would be in getting close to a young werewolf alone. Though the part of me that knew Bella doubted that.

"The Blacks are practically family, Bella, and Jacob has been a very very good friend to you."

"I know that."

"Don't you miss him at all?" Charlie's words must have hit Bella hard, because I heard her clear her throat to speak and I heard the emotion in her voice in her response.

"Yes I do miss him. I miss him a lot."

"Then why is it difficult?" I knew this question couldn't be answered honestly to Charlie, and I was anxious to hear what Bella would tell him.

"With Jacob there is a...conflict", she said, choosing her words carefully," A conflict about the friendship thing I mean. Friendship doesn't always seem to be enough for Jake." These words made me feel angry, not at Bella for saying them, but because I knew they were true. Still I didn't want to admit I felt any anger about this, so I did my best to push those feelings aside.

"Isn't Edward up for a little healthy competition?" Charlie asked sarcastically. His words made it harder to keep all my anger away, but I kept it away.

"There's no competition", she said darkly.

Charlie tried again, "You're hurting Jake's feelings, avoiding him like this. He'd rather be just friends than nothing." Charlie's quiet thoughts told me how he'd rather Bella was with Jacob. These thoughts hurt, because I knew he had a reason to feel that way. Bella had been missing, hurt, and endangered several times because of me.

"I'm pretty sure Jake doesn't want to be friends at all. Where'd you get that idea anyway?"

"The subject might have come up with Billy", He was embarrassed now.

"You and Billy gossip like old women".

"Billy's worried about Jacob. Jake's having a hard time right now...He's depressed. And then you were always so happy after spending the day with Jake." I could hear how much he missed Bella visiting with Jacob like she used to in his thoughts.

"I'm happy now", she said fiercely. Then the words Bella said and the way she said them made them both laugh. I even found myself chuckling quietly. "Okay okay, Balance", She said, Happier.

"And Jacob." I finally exhaled, and let me self growl slightly and quietly enough that human ears wouldn't be able to hear. He just kept insisting.

"I'll try."

"Good, find that balance, Bella. And, oh yeah, you've got some mail." His thoughts became loud and clear for the first time that night, _She's been accepted, I can't wait until she opens this and finds out. I am so proud of her._"It's by the stove." I smiled, I knew Bella was going to be accepted in Alaska, I had also just gotten my acceptance letter from there a few hours ago. He grabbed the envelope and tossed it to the bewildered looking Bella I saw through his eyes.

"Er, thanks." She looked down, obviously noticing the return address. "That was quick. I guess I missed the deadline on that one too." Charlie responded with a chuckle, his thoughts still proud and singing. She flipped the envelope over, "It's open", she glared at him.

"I was curious."

"I'm shocked, sheriff. That's a federal crime", she teased.

"Oh, just read it." She pulled the letter out, and Charlie couldn't keep his excited thoughts to himself any longer, "Congratulations, your first acceptance", he informed her.

"Thanks, Dad."

"We should talk about tuition. I've got some money saved up-"

"Hey, hey, none of that." I knew Bella wasn't going to want any help paying tuition. She was being stubborn about accepting money from me, and I could easily pay for it. She would never want her father to try to pay for it, especially since I knew she wasn't even planning on going to college. I was still going to try to change that. "I'm not touching your retirement, Dad. I've got my college fund."

"Some of these places are pretty pricey, Bells. I want to help. You don't have to go all the way to Alaska just because it's cheaper."_I want to help in anyway I can to get you to college for a future. That would also get you away from_ him....._unless_..... "So...", he started hesitantly. I looked at my watch, and decided five of was late enough to save Bella from answering his next question alone.

"So what?"

"Nothing, I was just...just wondering what .....Edward's plans are for next year?"

"Oh", was all she answered, and I knew she didn't want to answer this one. Now was the time to step in.

"Well?", he asked getting impatient. I knocked on the door.

"Coming!", she called happily.

"Go away." Charlie grumbled quietly.

The door opened and there she was.


	2. Future Plans

**Chapter 2**

**Here's the second part to chapter one. Please review it for me.**

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The door opened and there she was, The girl I had waited for for almost a century. She was so beautiful, I felt like nothing else in the world existed. I knew if my heart could beat, it would be pounding. Her smell was as wonderful as ever, it burned my throat, and I welcomed this pain now. I had almost no trouble resisting the monster inside me who wanted her blood. I took her hand and held it, the warmth of her fingers on mine felt incredible.

"Hey." She smiled.

I held up my hand, with hers still in it, and brushed her warm cheek. "How was your afternoon", I asked her, hoping it wasn't as bad as mine, her happiness was all that mattered.

"Slow."

"For me as well", I told her truthfully. I held her hand up to my face, and I touched my nose to her skin, smelling the staggering smell. It was stronger when it was closer, and it bewildered me that anything could smell so good. Again I welcomed, even enjoyed, the pain as it seared through my throat. This was the pain that meant I was near Bella. I became aware of Charlie's mumbled thoughts coming closer. I caught complaints about me and something about touching. I let our hands fall, but kept holding hers as Charlie stomped around the corner. I couldn't blame him for being mad at me. He had good reason to be, I was still mad at myself.

"Good Evening, Charlie," I said politely. Charlie just responded with a grunt, still grumbling in his thoughts. I turned to Bella and held up my hand with the envelope and stamps around my finger, "I brought another set of applications." I smiled as Bella groaned. I couldn't read her mind, but I still knew her well enough that I knew she was wondering how I found more college applications. I was still determined to make it as possible as I could for her to find a college she really wanted to go to, and change her plans a little. "There are still a few open deadlines. And a few places willing to make exceptions." I laughed at the look she gave me. She looked like she probably guessed right about how much effort and money I went through to find more applications. "Shall we", I still had her hand in mine and gently pulled her with me to the table.

Bella quickly cleared the table, as I organized the stack of applications. I noticed Bella move _Wuthering Heights _and I was about to tease her for reading it _again_ but Charlie was about to speak, his thoughts back to earlier before I had come in.

"Speaking of college applications, Edward. Bella and I were just talking about next year. Have you decided where you're going to school?" He still spoke to me rudely, and I still didn't mind.

I smiled and answered him politely, "Not yet, I've received a few acceptance letters, but I'm still weighing my options."

"Where have you been accepted",

I could hear he was really hoping I wasn't going to be around his daughter. Even though I was trying to be polite, I was becoming amused. It was time to disappointed him, I was starting to enjoy myself. "Syracuse . . . Harvard. . . Dartmouth. . . and I just got accepted to the university of Alaska Southeast today." I turned slightly to wink at Bella, she was trying not to laugh.

"Harvard? Dartmouth? Well that's pretty. . . that's something. Yeah, but the university of Alaska. . . you wouldn't really consider that when you could go Ivy League. I mean your father would want you to. . . "

"Carlisle's always fine with whatever I choose to do." I was still enjoying this. Charlie always became angry so easily.

"Hmph."

"Guess what Edward," Bella was playing along now, clearly enjoying this as much as I was.

"What Bella?"

"I just got _my _acceptance letter to the University of Alaska!", she said excitedly, pointing to her acceptance letter.

"Congratulations! What a coincidence."

Charlie was catching on now, he glared at the two of us. "Fine. I'm going to watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty." He said this out of habit.

"Er, Dad? Remember the very recent discussion about my freedom. . . ?"

"Right, Okay, ten-thirty. You still have a curfew on school nights."

"Bella's no longer grounded?" I kept my voice surprised, I certainly didn't want him knowing I had been outside listening to most of the conversation.

"Conditionally. What's it to you?"

"It's just good to know, Alice has been itching for a shopping partner, and I'm sure Bella would love to see some city lights."

"No!", I faintly heard some thoughts flash through Charlie's mind, I caught something about the paper, murders, and Seattle. I glanced at the headline of the paper, and immediately got a bad feeling. I picked it up and started reading the story.

"Huh", Bella was confused.

"I told you about that story in the paper- there's some kind of killing spree in Seattle and I want you to steer clear, okay?"

"Dad there's a better chance that I'll be struck by lightening than the one day I'm in Seattle-"

"No that's fine, Charlie", I interrupted her. As usual, Bella wasn't very good about knowing when she would be in danger or not. "I didn't mean Seattle. I was thinking Portland, actually. I wouldn't have Bella in Seattle either. Of course not." I was still reading, not liking what I was seeing.

"Fine." Charlie was giving in a bit unwillingly. His thoughts still stayed focused on us though, trying to hear what we were saying.

"What-", Bella started to ask, but I stopped her.

"Hold on, I think you can recycle your essays for this one. Same questions." She started to work on filling out the applications. I finished reading the artical for the second time and looked out the window. I knew this many unexplained murders were because of monsters like me. I knew I really couldn't let Bella go to Seattle even with Alice and me, there was no reason for me to risk Bella's life, even if the risk was small. Bella snorted and interrupted my thoughts. I looked at her, "Bella?"

"Be serious Edward. _Dartmouth? _She was looking at the application I had managed to get for her.

I picked up the papers she had shoved aside and put them in front of me. "I think you'd like New Hampshire. There's a full complement of night courses for me, and the forests are very conveniently located for the avid hiker. Plentiful wildlife." I smiled slightly to her. She still was being stubborn. I focused on Charlie's thoughts again, he was lost in the game. "I'll let you pay me back, if that makes you happy. If you want, I can charge you interest." I thought maybe if Bella got accepted to a college like Dartmouth, and her father showed enough pride, maybe Bella would give in and I would actually get my way with this. Maybe she would at least wait a little longer before she became a dangerous blood drinking monster.

"Like I could even get in without some enormous bribe. Or was that part of the loan? The new Cullen wing of the library? Why are we having this discussion again?"

Bella could be stubborn, but I wasn't going to give in without a fight either. "Will you just fill out the application, please, Bella? It won't hurt you to apply."

"You know what? I don't think I will." I could see in her face what she planned to do, so before she could even look at the application to dispose of them, I snatched them lightning fast and started putting them gently in my jacket. She looked at the now empty spot on the table, then glared at me. "What are you doing?"

"I sign your name better than you do yourself. You've already written the essays", I was determined to be as stubborn as she could be about this subject.

"You are going way overboard with this you know", she spoke quietly now, being cautious about Charlie. But he was still focused on the game. "I really don't need to apply anywhere else. I've been accepted in Alaska. I can almost afford the semester's tuition. It's as good an alibi as any. There's no need to throw away a bunch of money, no matter whose it is."

I was hoping she wouldn't say something like this. I wished she wouldn't be so anxious to jump into something I wasn't sure she had thought through. I tried again to change her mind again."Bella-"

"Don't start." She interrupted. "I agree that I need to go through the motions for Charlie's sake, but we both know I'm not going to be in any condition to go to school next fall, to be anywhere near people."

"I thought the timing was still undecided", I tried again to get her to change her mind. "You might enjoy a semester or two of college. There are a lot of human experiences you've never had."

"I'll get those afterward" ,she insisted.

"They won't be _human _experiences afterward. You don't get a second chance at humanity, Bella."

She sighed, "You've got to be reasonable about the timing, Edward. It's just too dangerous to mess around with."

"There's no danger yet," I insisted. She glared at me. I was pretty sure she was thinking about Victoria and the Volturi. But I had Alice keeping an eye out for Victoria and we would plan for that when the time. As for the Volturi, I knew we still had a lot of time until we would have to worry about them. She wouldn't believe mo though, I could see in her face how worried she was that had had to be turned sooner than later to keep herself safe. I tried again, "Bella, there's no hurry, I won't let anyone hurt you. You can take all the time you need."

She answered in a joking tone, trying at a different angle to persuade me,"I want to hurry. I want to be a monster too."

Her tone that she thought she could make a joke out of this subject just made me feel a bit angry. She had no idea what she was trying to rush into. "You don't know what your saying." I grabbed the newspaper and showed her the headline.

**Death Toll on the Rise, Police Fear Gang Activity**

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Monsters are not a joke, Bella, " The thought of Bella, this sweet girl in front of me, becoming a newborn vampire made me feel sick. She already was going to get her way with this, I just wished she wouldn't rush it so much.

"A. . . a _vampire _is doing this,"she whispered.

I smiled sadly, maybe she might start to see my point, "You'd be surprised, Bella, at how often my kind are the source behind the horrors in your human news. It's easy to recognize when you know what to look for. The information here indicates a newborn vampire is loose in Seattle. Bloodthirsty, wild, out of control. The way we all were." I vaguely remembered my own newborn days. They certainly were not something I wanted to remember or think about though.

"It won't be the same for me," she sounded like she was trying to convince herself almost as much as me. This was good, maybe I was starting to get through to her a little. "You won't let me be like that. We'll live in Antarctica."

I snorted,"Penguins. Lovely." Though I had never tried penguin, It did not sound like very desirable prey.

"Alaska then, as planned. Only somewhere much more remote than Juneau- somewhere with grizzlies galore." she said

I decided to drop the argument now. After seeing the small step of progress getting through to her already I figured pushing it more tonight wouldn't help me with this. "Better, there are polar bears too, very fierce . And the wolves get quite large."As I said this Bella exhaled sharply, as if something just caused her a great amount of pain. "What's wrong?" I thought through my words trying to figure out what I said. Then I realized it was the wolf comment. _He _was still on her mind. I stiffened,"Oh, never mind the wolves, then, if the idea is offensive to you."

"He was my best friend, Edward. Of course the idea offends me."

I couldn't stop myself from responding the way I did, and in the tone I did," Please forgive my thoughtlessness. I shouldn't have suggested that."

"Don't worry about it," she spoke quietly. I looked at her, she was staring at her clenched fists. I stopped my own thoughts about Jacob and thought about Bella. Now she was here in front of me hurt and upset from something I said. I softened and put my finger under her chin, gently pushing her head up.

"I'm sorry. Really." I said, hating Jacob right now was just not worth it to see her this way.

"I know. I know it's not the same thing. I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just that . . . Well I was already thinking about Jacob before you came over." She started pleading, "Charlie says Jake is having a hard time. He's hurting right now, and. . . it's my fault."

I wished she would see, this wasn't something she had to worry about. This wasn't her problem to try to fix. "You've done nothing wrong, Bella."

"I need to make it better, Edward. I owe him that. And it's one of Charlie's conditions, anyway-"

"You know it's out of the question for you to be around a werewolf unprotected, Bella," I interrupted knowing what she wanted from the earlier conversation I heard. " And it would break the treaty if any of us cross over onto their land. Do you want us to start a war?"

"Of course not!"

"Then there's really no point in discussing the matter further." I looked for something to change the subject. I really didn't want to talk about this anymore. I spotted Bella's book on the counter behind her. I smiled slightly, this would do nicely. I'm glad Charlie has decided to let you out, you're sadly in need of a visit to the bookstore. I can't believe your reading _ Wuthering Heights _again. Don't you know it by heart yet?" I tried hoping she would forget about Jacob.

"Not all of us have photographic memories," she was trying not to get into this discussion, probably knowing what I was doing.

I tried some more anyway, "Photographic memory or not, I don't understand why you like it. The characters are ghastly people who ruin eachothers' lives. I don't know how Heathcliff and Cathy ended up being ranked with couples like Romeo and Juliet or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. It isn't a love story, it's a hate story."

"You have some serious issues with the classics."

Now she was getting distracted. "Perhaps it's because I'm not impressed by antiquity." Even though I started this to change the subject, I was curious about what she liked so much with that story. "Honestly though, why _do _you read it over and over?" I held her face, looking into her soft brown eyes, trying to understand her, wishing again that I could read her mind. "What is it that appeals to you."

"I'm not sure. I think it's something about the inevitable . How nothing can keep them apart, not her selfishness, or his evil, or even death, in the end. . . "

"I still think it would be a better story if either of them had one redeeming quality," I teased.

She was silent for a moment, then sighed, putting her hand of mine, holding it to her face. I hoped she wasn't starting to think about what I thought she was. "I need to see Jacob."

Darn, obviously she couldn't be distracted for very long, so here we go again I thought, closing my eyes. "No."

"It's truly not dangerous at all. I used to spend all day in La Push with the whole lot of them, and nothing ever happened." Her voice faltered at the end, as if she realized that she was wrong while she was talking.

I could hear her heart accelerating. I nodded hopeful that she was realizing the truth in what I was about to say. "Werewolves are unstable, sometimes the people near them get hurt. Sometimes they get killed." Like she said, she had spent a lot of her time with them, she must have seen at least one of them loose their temper at least once.

"You'll have to trust me on this. I'll be fine."

Her pleading made it a little harder for me to stand my ground, but I wasn't going to let this one slide. I wanted to trust her so bad, but I knew there was no way I was going to let her go up there alone, especially when Alice couldn't see her. I also was not strong enough to let her out of my sight and Alice's vision. It still felt like I just got her back after those agonizing months of pure hell. "Please, Bella," I pleaded.

"Please what?"

"Please, for me. Please make a conscious effort to keep yourself safe. I'll do everything I can, but I would appreciate a little help." Sometimes I thought she was trying to kill herself.

"I'll work on it."

I walked over to her, and held her in my arms. "Do you have any idea how important you are to me? Any concept of how much I love you?" I kissed the top of her head, it was time to end this argument for the night. "No werewolves."

"I'm not going to go along with that. I have to see Jacob."

"Then I'll have to stop you," it was not something I looked forward to doing, but physically stopping Bella from going to La Push looked like it was going to be inevitable. She was so stubborn, and a magnet for danger. I would have to keep an eye on her, I knew she would probably try to sneak up there soon.

"We'll see about that, he's still my friend," I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. I was satisfied that she seemed to know she wasn't going to be able to go to La Push even if she tried, and I managed to get her to see at least some of the potential danger of her going up there alone.


	3. Vision

**Here's the next part. I'm mostly just writing this for fun, but please review for any suggestions. I would love to improve my writing.**

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Graduation was approaching fast. All the seniors were thinking about it, almost constantly. My mind was taken up with partially with thoughts of Bella graduating, one human experience I could count on her getting. The other parts of my mind were occupied with various concerns about Victoria, werewolves, the Volturi, and Bella's desire to become a monster. Graduation was even the topic of conversation between Bella and Angela.

We were sitting down for lunch, Bella was next to me, and Angela, her boyfriend Ben, and Alice on the other side of the table. _She has the _worst _taste in fashion_, I could hear Alice's thoughts criticizing Bella's Choice in clothing. Ben was absorbed in his comic, and Angela was thinking about all the invitations she had to write out.

"Have you sent your announcements, yet?" she asked Bella. Angela was one of Bella's few friends who had proven to be a true friend after I returned, but she was still slightly uncomfortable around Alice and me.

"No," Bella answered," There's no point really, Renee knows when I'm graduating. Who else is there?"

"How about you, Alice?"

"All done," she answered simply. Like me, only a part of her mind was focused on the conversation.

"Lucky you. My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand address one to everybody. I'm going to get carpal tunnel. I can't put it off any longer and I'm just dreading it."

"I'll help," Bella offered, no doubt fulfilling the conditions her dad made. At least the ones she could fulfill. "If you don't mind my awful handwriting."

I could hear how relieved Angela was to have help with the obligation she had been dreading for so long. "That's so nice of you, I'll come over anytime you want." She said, thinking Bella was still grounded.

"Actually, I'd rather go to your house, if that's okay, I'm sick of mine. Charlie un-grounded me last night."

Angela was truly happy for Bella,"Really? I thought you said you were grounded for life."

"I'm more surprised than you are. I was sure I would at least have to finish high school before he set me free."

"Well this is great Bella! We'll have to go out and celebrate." Angela shouldn't have said that, I thought. Now I could hear Alice's mind coming up with all sorts of exotic adventures to celebrate. At least most of Alice's attention was not on Bella's attire anymore.

"You have no idea how good that sounds."

"What should we do?" Alice asked, more possibilities flashing through her mind. I saw visions of Hawaii, Visiting France along with some expensive clothing stores, and even the great wall of China flash through her mind within a second.

"Whatever you're thinking, Alice, I doubt I'm that free." I grinned, and almost laughed out loud, but I didn't think anyone noticed. It was funny how well Bella knew Alice now. It amazed me how things had changed in sixteen months.

"Free is free right?" Alice wasn't going to give up her ideas easily.

"I'm sure I still have boundaries, like the continental U.S., for example."

Angela and Ben laughed, thinking Bella was exaggerating, But Alice was disappointed, realizing Bella was probably right. They decided to plan something for the upcoming weekend. Angela and Alice started talking about possibilities, but Bella looked upset. Some of my previous thoughts came to the surface of my mind. Was Bella worried about Victoria? Or was it the one person I didn't want her, or myself, to even think about. I really hoped she wasn't having ambitions to see Jacob again.

I pushed Jacob to the back of my mind again. I was about to ask her what was wrong, and try to cheer her up when Alice started to have a vision.

I looked into her thoughts and saw Victoria. She was trying again to get to Bella, coming to Forks. She would be coming this weekend. I saw her lunge towards Bella's window Before I could see the outcome, the vision ended,

This was not good. I could not let Victoria even have a fraction of a chance to get to Bella. My family would also have to be prepared to fight her, and keep her away from Charlie. Angela's voice brought me out of my worries, and back to Forks high school. She was trying to get Alice's attention, and was confused by her sudden absentmindedness.

We were supposed to be acting like normal people, and we weren't doing a very good job right now. I composed myself, and decided I had enough time to decide what to do about this later. I laughed, drawing everyone's attention off of Alice and onto me for a few seconds. I subtlety kicked Alice under the table, trying to get her to snap out of it and remind her where we were. "Is it nap time already, Alice." I teased, to pretend this wasn't a common occurrence.

Alice quickly recovered and became herself again, "Sorry, I was daydreaming I guess."

I started to play with Bella's hair, as I thought about what to do next. I wanted to keep this news from her. I knew she knew what Alice's behavior meant, and she was going to question as soon as she could. I didn't want her to worry about this. I would just have to make sure she wouldn't get a chance to ask until I managed to think of something convincing to tell her.

I inconspicuously gave Alice a look, trying to tell her I didn't want Bella to know. _You don't want Bella to know about this?_ Alice directed her thoughts to me. I nodded slightly, glad she knew me so well._ I'll do my best to not let her find out_. I nodded again and smiled quickly at her, thanking her.

After lunch I made sure to have a conversation with Ben, trying to find anything to talk about. It wasn't hard, I just had to start talking about whatever was on his mind, and I could instantly have a deep conversation. humans were so predictable. At least most of them are, I corrected myself as a glanced at Bella.

In between classes I was always able to find someone to talk to. During our last class I could hear that Mike Newton was distressed about his car not working. This would make a perfect conversation to get us to the car, even though I hated Newton. As soon as the bell rang I approached him, starting the conversation, letting him change the topic to his car troubles.

When we got to the car Alice was already there. She started talking non stop, about anything she could think of. I knew Bella wanted to question Alice's vision still, so I tried not to meet her gaze. I now thought about what I could do to get Bella away from the area in a couple of weeks.

I drove up to our house to let Alice out. _You're going to have a hard time keeping this from her now_, she thought as she got out. _Do you have any ideas how to get her away from here though?_ I nodded quickly, fairly sure I had a good idea now.

As I drove to Bella's house I was positive she still wanted to know what Alice had seen. She stayed silent though. "Light homework load tonight," I asked her, wishing it was easier to make her forget about something. She made a noise in agreement, her mind still elsewhere. This was definitely one of those times I wished I could hear what she was thinking, even though I did have a good guess. "Do you think I'm allowed inside again?" I asked, trying to break the annoying silence.

"Charlie didn't throw a fit when you picked me up for school," she reminded me. I followed her into the house and into her room. She turned on her slow computer and waited anxiously for it to start. I looked out her window, deciding what to say to Bella, and planning how I was going to get her away from here this weekend.

She started drumming her fingers on the desk. I decided now was a good time to "dazzle" her, as she put it. I noiselessly walked up behind her and put my hands on her, stopping their drumming. "Are we a little impatient today?" I asked quietly as bent over her head and moved my head closer to hers. She looked up, her face changed from being ready to make a smart remark to trying to catch her breath. I knew I had the reaction I was looking for as I listened to her heart hammer in her chest.

I repositioned myself and started kissing her, still moving slow so I could be cautious not to loose control. The monster inside me was mostly hidden away, but he was still there. My cold lips gently found her soft warm lips again and again. In response to this, Bella latched onto me with her weak grip and pushed as close into me as she could. The fire in my throat was very intense now, but I was able to ignore it. I felt her shiver, and I figured she was getting too cold being pressed against my frozen body, I started to loosen my arms around her, getting ready to stop before she got any colder.

Bella guessed I was about to stop, so she pushed herself into me even harder. I was finding more pleasure out of this than I could ever imagine, but this had to end soon, before I lost control. Then I felt her warm gentle tongue glide over my lip. This was too much, the temptation was becoming too great, the fire almost unbearable now. With one smooth motion, I pushed her away before it could go any farther. I couldn't help but chuckle, the wonderful feeling I got when I kissed her was amazing. "Ah, Bella," I sighed, trying to sound disapproving. I was sure she knew she went a little to far, pushing my control a little too much for what I felt comfortable with.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not," she stated.

"And I should feel sorry that your not sorry, but I don't," I wanted almost more than anything to kiss her again. But the only thing I wanted more than to kiss her was to keep her safe. "Maybe I should go sit on the bed."

"If you think that's necessary. . . ," She sighed. I could still hear her heart pounding.

I smiled, and detached myself from her. Her computer was on and ready for her to use. She went to her e-mail and started looking at what her mother had written. I knew she was going to write an e-mail back,"Tell Renee I said hello," I said smiling. She was shaking her head at what she was reading, no doubt disapproving something Renee had done.

"Sure thing."

As she read and then wrote, I spotted what I was looking for. There in her closet, buried in dust was her birthday gifts from September. There was the partially destroyed car stereo. It looked like it had been removed very unskillfully and roughly, and next to that was the plane tickets Carlisle and Esme had given her. I picked them up and held them against my body, where they couldn't be seen easily. Bella had just finished, and shut the computer off and pushed away. From the corner of my eye, I could see her looking at me skeptically.

"What did you _do _to this?" I asked, indicating the ripped out stereo.

"It didn't want to come out of the dashboard."

"So you felt the need to torture it?" I teased.

"You know how I am with tools. No pain was inflicted intentionally."

"You killed it."

"Oh well," she shrugged.

"It would hurt their feelings if they saw this. I guess it's a good thing you've been under house arrest. I'll have to get another one in place before they notice." I wanted a new stereo in her truck more for my benefit and anyone else who rode in that dinosaur of hers. I enjoyed having the ability to listen to music when we rode together in her truck.

"Thanks, but I don't need a fancy stereo," she really hated receiving gifts.

"It's not for your sake that I'm going to replace it." I kept implying the idea that she was going to hurt my family's feelings if she didn't use her gifts. I needed her to thinking this way if my plan was going to work.

"You didn't get much good out of your birthday presents last year," I told her as I started to fan myself with the plane tickets I'd been holding. Her face became anguished. I had to struggle not to grimace, because I didn't want to remember the consequences of her party, as she probably was. Her face was identical to how I felt bringing this up. I worked to keep my face positive., "Did you know these are about to expire." I held the tickets out so she could see them.

I could see her struggling to keep herself calm and casual, "No, I'd forgotten about them, actually."

"Well we still have a little time. You've been liberated, and we have no plans for this weekend, as you refuse to go to the prom with me," I grinned at her, I wasn't going to make her go to prom, but I wasn't going to let her forget about it either. "Why not celebrate your freedom this way."

"By going to Florida?" She gasped, surprised.

"You did say something about the continental U.S. being allowable." I was going to try in any way I could to get Bella away from here this weekend. She was getting suspicious, I could tell in her face by the way she glared at me. I still had to keep persisting. "Well, are we going to see Renee or not?"

"Charlie will never allow it," she always seemed to make if so difficult for me to keep her safe.

"Charlie can't keep you from visiting your mother. She still has primary custody." I was setting her up to say what I wanted her to say.

"Nobody has custody over me. I'm an adult."

I smiled, thrilled she said what I wanted her to, "Exactly."

I watched her beautiful face carefully as she weighed her options. This was yet another one of those times I wished I could read her mind. Maybe I'd be able to really figure out why she didn't want to go, then I'd be able to talk her into this. I could see her debating, torn between what she wanted to do. She was still suspicious from the way I was acting, but I was also sure she missed her mom. I hoped the idea of getting to see her so soon would be too hard to pass up.

Finally she sighed, "Not this weekend."

These were not words I wanted to hear, "Why not?"

"I don't want to fight with Charlie. Not so soon after he's forgiven me."

"I think this weekend is perfect."

"Another time," she was so stubborn.

I tried another strategy, maybe if I could get her to feel bad for me. . . "You aren't the only one who's been trapped in this house you know,"

She looked suspicious again, I was worried she wasn't falling for it, "You can go anywhere you want."

"The outside world holds no interest for me without you." At least this was true. I was feeling a bit guilty lying so much to her. But keeping her safe and not letting her worry the way she did was more important to me.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's take the outside world slowly, all right? For example, we could start with a movie in Port Angeles. . . "

I groaned, interrupting her. I could see this wasn't going anywhere at the moment. I would just try again another time, maybe involve Charlie in the discussion. . . "Never mind. We'll talk about it later."

"There's nothing left to talk about."

I just shrugged in response, I really didn't want to fight with her anymore at the moment.

"Okay then, new subject. What did Alice see today at lunch?"

I had been prepared for this question. I was able to keep my face unreadable and composed as I lied again. "She's been seeing Jasper in a strange place, somewhere in the southwest, she thinks, near his former.. . . family. But he has no conscious intentions to go back. It's got her worried."

"Oh," was her only reply. She probably really had guessed something closer to the truth, and what I just told her was unexpected. Again, I couldn't stop the feelings of huilt about lying to her. I really hoped she wouldn't ever be able to find out about how untruthful I could be. She might never trust me again. But keeping Bella safe was certainly more important to me.


	4. Travel Arrangements

**This completes chapter 2 in Eclipse. Thanks for the reviews. They are very encouraging, and make me feel a little less like an idiot. I am still having a lot of fun writing this.  
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Chapter 4 Travel Arrangements  
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We went downstairs to do homework, mostly for Charlie's benefit. I had done these classes so many times, and I was able to write in lightning speed, that I had my homework done very quickly. Of course Bella was only human, doing these classes for the first time, so it took her longer. I waited patiently while she finished. I then helped her make dinner for herself and Charlie, trying not to show how repulsed I was by the human food she was preparing.

As Charlie and Bella ate in the kitchen, I thought about my next plan of action. I remembered her reaction to my remark about who had custody, and I thought if I could get Charlie to get her started, I might be able to get what I wanted. If Charlie was her best argument against this, I would just have to remove him as an excuse. I turned off the news I'd been pretending to watch and stepped into the kitchen, after hearing the sounds of Bella clearing the table. They were discussing possible plans to go to a bonfire at La Push. Charlie really was trying to encourage her to go, and I was glad to see Bella looked doubtful about the subject. Now was the time to try my plan.

"Charlie," I started in a polite conversational tone,"Did Bella ever tell you that my parents gave her airplane tickets on her last birthday, so that she could visit Renee." Bella dropped the plate she washing, because she was so surprised that _I _was asking Charlie about this. I fought down a smile.

"Bella?" Charlie questioned her in a stunned voice. I was able to catch some of his thoughts, _Nobody gives. . .gift. . .expensive. That seems. . .to . . true._

"Yeah, they did," she admitted.

_You better not be thinking you're going someplace with her_, his angry quiet thoughts became clearer, and were directed to me. I was still barely able to catch all his words. His eyes narrowed,"No, she never mentioned it."

"Hmmmm," I pretended I was just coming up with the idea I had. I could almost feel the anger coming off Bella, I knew she was going to be furious with me for pushing this so much.

"Was there a reason you brought it up?", Charlie had a guess why I brought this up, and his guess was right. I could hear he was ready to refuse to let her go with me, he was going to treat her like a child. This was just what I wanted.

I kept things as casual as I could and shrugged,"They're about to expire. I think it might hurt Esme's feelings if Bella doesn't use her gift. Not that she'd say anything."

Charlie was happy that Bella had a chance to see her mother. He knew as well as I did that she missed her mother. He forgot all about his earlier thoughts, he couldn't remember why he hadn't wanted her to go. "It's probably a good idea for you to visit your mom, Bella. She'd love that. I'm surprised you didn't say anything about this though."

"I forgot."

"You forgot that someone gave you plane tickets?" he said, disbelief filled he voice.

"Mmmmmm," was all the response he got. I knew she had a real reason for forgetting about them, and she didn't want to think or talk about them.

Suddenly Charlie remembered his earlier thoughts, and why he didn't want Bella going. "I noticed that you said _they're_ about to expire, Edward. How many tickets did your parents give her."

I was once again enjoying this. I always found it amusing to watch his frustration erupt so suddenly. "Just one for her. . . ," I paused," and one for me."

Bella dropped the plate she was washing again, this time in the sink, and Charlie became furious. This was perfect, things were going just as I hoped. "That's out of the question!" He was shouting now.

"Why," I tried to sound as surprised and innocent as I could," You just said it was a good idea for her to see her mother."

Charlie ignored me though, and turned to Bella. "You're not going anywhere with him young lady," he continued yelling. I tried not to smile. The words he said and the way he said them were better than I could have hoped for. I was pretty sure this was going to turn out the way I wanted.

Bella spun around, ready to fight back. "I'm not a child, Dad. And I'm not grounded anymore, remember?"

"Oh yes, you are. Starting now." _I will keep her from going somewhere alone with him one way or another._

"For what?!"

"Because I said so."

"Do I need to remind you that I'm a legal adult, Charlie?"

"This is my house, you follow my rules."

"If that's how you want it. Do you want me to move out tonight? Or can I have a few days to pack?" This was a little bit harsh, and I could see Bella felt bad after she said it. She composed herself and spoke more calmly this time, "I'll do my time without complaining when I've done something wrong, Dad, but I'm not going to put up with your prejudices."

Charlie was trying to convince himself that he had nothing against me. In all honesty I could hear he did though. He was remembering when Bella ran to go to phoenix, and of course when I left and her heart was broken because of it, then he remembered when she ran away from home unannounced, to go find me.

"It's not like I'm going off to Vegas to be a showgirl or anything, I'm going to see _Mom,_ She's just as much my parental authority as you are."

_You are more responsible than she is._ he quietly thought, giving Bella a disbelieving look. _I don't think _he _is very responsible._ But I could still hear he was about to give in.

"Are you implying something about mom's ability to look after me? You'd better hope I don't mention this to her."

"You'd better not, I'm not happy about this, Bella." He finally gave in. I smiled subtly.

"There's no reason for you to be upset. So, my homework is done, your dinner is done, the dishes are done, and I'm not grounded. I'm going out. I'll be back before ten-thirty."

"Where are you going?" Charlie spoke in a normal tone, though I could hear in his blurry thoughts he was regretting releasing his punishment at the moment.

"I'm not sure, I'll keep it in a ten mile radius though, okay?"

"No it's not okay," I heard Charlie grumble so quickly and quietly I didn't think Bella could hear. His thoughts were sounding like a bad radio station again. I picked broken thoughts about more regret about Bella's freedom, and about me. I could also slightly see and hear memories and worries about other times Bella had been alone with me, and how they had ended in disaster. I winced slightly at the memories, hoping Bella didn't notice.

My eyes had never left Bella. I watched as her face remained angry mixed with a little regret. She was still looking in Charlie's direction, but the argument was over. I knew this meant she was now angry at me, as I knew she would be. "We're going out?" I asked, quiet enough so only she could hear me. I had to admit I hadn't been expecting to be able to go out with Bella tonight. Even when I knew she was going to be angry, I was very happy to be able to go somewhere with her, that wasn't school or her house.

"Yes. I'd like to speak to you _alone_." As she turned to me, the anger on her face was not any surprise. Again, I had known this was going to happen.

I walked to my car with her, while I prepared for the possibility of having to lie to her again. Her anger towards me was not the hard part, I deserved it. Lying to her, the reason I deserved her resentment, that was the hard part. We both quietly got in my car. I pleaded with her in my mind, _Please ask questions that I can give truthful answers to._

"What was that?" She demanded.

This question was easy, I was prepared for it. "I know you want to see your mother, Bella – you've been talking about her in your sleep. Worrying actually." This was mostly true. I had only exaggerated a little. Bella had said her mom's name maybe three times in her sleep since she had been grounded. Of course the lie was that this wasn't the reason I had started her fight with Charlie.

"I have?"

I nodded, ready to add more. "But, clearly, you were too much of a coward to deal with Charlie, so I interceded on your behalf."

"Interceded? You threw me to the sharks!"

I rolled my eyes. That was an exaggeration, though I did feel a bit guilty. "I don't think you were in any danger."

"I told you I didn't want to fight with Charlie,"

"Nobody said you had to," I said, still happy she had, and my plan had worked.

"I can't help myself when he gets all bossy like that – my natural teenage instincts overpower me."

She said almost the exact words I had been thinking when I started her fight, and I couldn't hold in a chuckle, "Well, that's not my fault."

Now the regret of my dishonesty fully hit me. Hadn't I once told myself I wouldn't lie to her again? The only thing I could tell myself was this was all to keep her safe. I stared out the windshield in an attempt to hide the slight guilt on my face I still showed. I could feel Bella's eyes on me, and I knew she was still suspicious.

"Does this sudden urge to see Florida have anything to do with the party at Billy's place?" She asked me, suddenly interrupting my thoughts.

This time my answer was the truth. But the happiness of finally being truthful with her today was drowned out at the thought of Bella going alone with those dogs. "Nothing at all. It wouldn't matter if you were on the other side of the world, you still wouldn't be going."

I heard Bella's heart rate increase again in anger. Her teeth were clenched, and she looked exactly how she had looked earlier, when she was arguing with Charlie. I thought about what I had just said, and realized how controlling I was being. I still couldn't stand the jealousy I felt towards Jacob though. Bella was _mine_, and I hated the things I heard in his thoughts. I was still too selfish to let Jacob even have the slightest chance to be with her, and I felt guilty about that. Would I be able to stop feeling guilty tonight?

I sighed, and I didn't want to think about this anymore. I changed the subject, "So what do you want to do tonight?"

Bella's heart calmed down again at the change in my voice. "Can we go to your house?" she asked. "I haven't seen Esme in so long."

I really liked this idea and I smiled. I was glad this argument seemed to be over, and I hoped it would never come up again. "She'll like that," I said thinking about how my adoptive mother had just been asking about Bella yesterday. She would be _very_ happy to see Bella. Then I turned my tone so I was teasing,"Especially when she hears what we're doing this weekend."

Her only response was a groan.

My family was very happy to see Bella again. Esme had ran to her and hugged her. Bella was like another daughter to her, and she had missed her a lot during the last few weeks of Bella's confinement.

"Bella and I are going to Florida this weekend," I told her. Alice had already told Esme that I was going to try to get Bella away from Forks and why, but she didn't know if I had managed to convince Bella yet.

"That's great," Esme exclaimed. "I'm sure your mother is going to be very happy to see you again, and she probably misses you more than you miss her." Esme was speaking from recent experience now.

The rest of the evening was pleasant, we all talked and played chess. Jasper got a chance to show how good he was at chess (when he had a fair opponent) by playing with Bella. Alice and I played against each other, because we are the only equally matched opponents, and we both have our advantages that would be unfair against almost any other player. As usual, we played most of the game in our minds.

Bella kept track of the time, and a little after ten she decided we should head back. She was worried her dad would still be angry, and was a little anxious to get back and not give him another excuse to yell at her.

When we arrived at her house, I could hear some embarrassment and hesitation in Charlie's thoughts. I searched through his mind as best I could and got a pretty good idea of what he was thinking about, and what he wanted to talk to Bella about.

"You'd better not come inside," Bella said, bringing me out of Charlie's thoughts. "It will only make things worse."

I didn't want to tell her that him being angry with her and shouting was not what she needed to worry about. But knowing Bella, if she knew what was waiting for her she would probably be dreading facing Charlie even more. I would let her find out on her own. "His thoughts are relatively calm," I informed her. I imagined Charlie giving Bella the sex talk, and I had to suppress a smile.

"I'll see you later," she said sadly.

Bella acted like she was about to be tortured. I laughed at how she blew simple problems way out of proportion and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be back when Charlie's snoring," I promised.

I watched her reluctantly walk inside. Then I decided I would hunt just to pass some time, since I really didn't want to stick around to hear this conversation. I quickly drove my car home, and went for a short run, while I stayed at a fairly close range to Bella's house. I was in a good mood, now that I was sure Bella would be safe. After I had enjoyed a thrilling run at my top speed, I started to search for something interesting to hunt. I didn't get very far when I heard my phone ring. It was Alice.

"Edward, is Bella alright? I suddenly lost her, I can't see any future for her at all," she was panicking.

I worked to keep my voice controlled," Do you have any idea why?"

"I think it has something to do with the wolves, it's just like when I couldn't see her after she jumped off the cliff."

I swore quietly to myself. Now I knew exactly what Bella was planning. "Thanks for telling me Alice, I can take care of it." I snapped the phone shut. This was the end of my good mood. The thought of Bella trying to sneak out to see that _dog_ made me feel so angry. Then I also hated my selfish desires to keep Bella to myself, and it made me even angrier at myself. I still wasn't ready to let her go, and give the mutt any chance to with Bella. I tried to convince myself I didn't like her going there because of the danger. I tried to convince myself I only did not want her to go there for her safety, and not my emotions.

I arrived at her house in just a couple minutes. I listened and could hear her asking if she could visit Jacob. I could hear Charlie was very satisfied with her decision, and was more than willing to grant her permission. In seconds I popped the hood of Bella's truck and removed the distributor. That would be something fairly easy for me to put back in when I needed to. Then I smoothly got in the passenger side and tried to control calm down.

A few moments later I saw Bella guiltily come out. I starred at the distributor, somehow it helped me feel less ashamed at my possessive behavior when I didn't look at her face. I knew she couldn't see anything as she got in the truck next to me. I started playing with the missing truck part, so Bella would notice my movement sooner. She tried unsuccessfully to start the truck a couple times. Then she finally noticed me, and gasped in surprise.

"Alice called," I started to say quietly, still focusing only on the distributor I was playing with. "She got nervous when your future rather abruptly disappeared five minutes ago." I paused for a moment, still not looking up, but I let Bella understand that Alice would be able to discover any future plans to see Jacob. "Because she can't see the wolves, you know. Had you forgotten that? When you decide to mingle your fate with theirs, you disappear, too. You couldn't know that part, I realize that. But can you understand why that might make me a little…anxious?" Anxious was probably not quite the right word. "Alice saw you disappear, and she couldn't even tell if you'd come home or not. Your future got lost, just like theirs."

I wanted to continue talking, I didn't want to sit in an angry silence with her for any period of time. "We're not sure why this is. Some natural defense their born with? That doesn't seem entirely likely, since I haven't had any trouble reading their thoughts. The Blacks' at least. Carlisle theorizes that it's because their lives are so ruled by their transformations. It's more an involuntary reaction than a decision. Utterly unpredictable, and it changes everything about them. In that instant when they shift from one form to another, they don't really even exist. The future can't hold them… I'll put your car back together in time for school, in case you'd like to drive yourself." I wanted to give her some kind of choice, since I'd decided so much for her already in one day.

She was still furiously silent, then she grabbed her keys, and got out of the truck without a word.

I was so disgusted with myself. I was so weak. I silently promised her and myself that I would be strong enough to let her go someday. I looked up at her for the first time,"Shut your window if you want me to stay away tonight. I'll understand," I whispered, before she slammed the door.

After she slammed the door to the house, I noiselessly got out of the truck, and ran for the woods. I decided to continue with my hunting where I left off. It would probably be about another hour until Charlie went to bed, and I had to do something to calm myself, and at the moment hunting was the best thing I could think of. After about forty-five minutes I decided to go back. I hadn't had a successful hunt, because my heart just wasn't in it, but I did feel better. I really hoped Bella was not so mad at me and the window would be closed, even though she had the right to be.

When I arrived at her house, I could hear Charlie's labored breathing, so I knew he was asleep. With a small smile I saw Bella's window was open. I decided if Bella could move past the bad events of the day, so could I. I lept up to her window as I promised myself again that I would try to become stronger and do things differently in the future.


	5. Suspicions

**I hate chapters like these with a lot of diolauge. But I guess that comes with trying a fanfiction like this. Anyway, please give me some reviews to tell me how I'm doing, and if I'm on the right track. **

**Thanks so much for those people who have reviewed this and encouraged me to keep going. This is definitely a tougher project than I thought, and when I begin to think I'm doing terrible your reviews really help push me to keep going. I really do want to continue this.  
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**This is the first part of chapter 3 in the book**

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Chapter 5 -Suspicions  
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It had been a very long weekend. Much of it had been spent alone with my thoughts, while Bella went out alone in the bright sun with her mother. It had still been worth it though, Bella was safe, and she got to spend time with her mother. I felt happy for Renee too, she had been ecstatic to see her only daughter again.

Renee was very interesting. I could see the similarities between her and Bella, especially in appearances, but there was also a lot of differences. For one thing, I could read her thoughts very clearly. She was the only person related to Bella I knew that I could clearly and easily understand. Bella had been right, she was very young at heart. Her mind was a pleasant place to be, she was very happy and satisfied with her life, and looked at things in a simple way, never over complicating things.

This of course was a small problem. She noticed and saw us together, and was able to see more of the truth in our relationship than other people did. I didn't worry about it too much, and just limited how much I touched Bella in front of her. All in all, I found Renee to be a very enjoyable person to be around, and she was certainly more agreeable about anything than Charlie was.

I briefly meet Phil too. His mind wasn't very interesting to listen to. Mostly it was distracted. Distracted with thoughts of his baseball team, and Renee. But he was nice enough, and I didn't find anything I didn't like about him. He wasn't around most of the time though, so usually it would be Renee, Bella, and me.

The second day, in the morning, Bella and her mother went out for a particularly long walk outside. Before they left, I could hear Renee thinking about Bella and me. She was a little uneasy about our relationship, because she could see how intense it was, and she had never seen another one like it. I wondered what that conversation had been like, because when they returned, Renee's thoughts had shifted slightly. By the end of the day she thought she was being silly and head been reading too many books and had her imagination was running wild. I felt a little bad that we couldn't tell her the truth, and that she was actually being very observant.

Later in the day after several goodbyes, and a plane ride, Bella and I were in my car, headed back to Forks. She had been very quiet for most of the journey, and I could hardly stand the silence any longer. I hadn't been able to talk to her much this weekend.

"You've been very quiet, did the plane make you sick," I asked her.

"No, I'm okay."

"Are you sad to leave?"

"More relieved than sad, I think," she replied.

I questioningly raised an eyebrow. that didn't make sense. Bella must have been glad to see her mother, I couldn't think of why she would be happy to leave her.

"Renee is so much more. . . Perceptive than Charlie in some ways. It was making me jumpy," she explained.

I laughed, because I definitely had to agree with that, and I had almost exactly the same conclusions. "Your mother has a very interesting mind. Almost childlike, but very insightful. She sees things differently than other people," I agreed.

After this short conversation, Bella returned to her thoughts, and the silence returned. She must have been tired, because halfway home she had fallen asleep. I occupied most of my mind with watching her sleep, like I had so many previous nights. I only had to keep a small fraction of my concentration on the road.

I pulled up in front of Bella's house and turned off my car. I glanced at Bella, who was still sleeping soundly, but not deep enough to talk. I gently touched her warm cheek to wake her. She opened her eyes, and looked up blinking the sleep out of them. She was so beautiful even when she was tired, I couldn't resist kissing her on the forehead.

"We're home, sleeping beauty," I informed her. "Time to awake." I assessed Charlies' thoughts to see if I could catch anything important. There were some good thoughts, and not so good ones in my opinion. The good thoughts were about Bella, he had been worried from past experiences that his daughter would not come back. But now he was relieved Bella was home. The bad thoughts were memories of several attempts from Jacob to talk to Bella. I felt instantly suspicious and stiffened. Jacob was resentful towards Bella right now, why would he want to talk to her so bad?

Bella must have noticed how uneasy I felt, because she thought I was worried about Charlies' reaction. "How bad?" she asked as I opened the car door for her.

"Charlie's not going to be difficult," I told her honestly. Bella did not need to worry about her father. "He missed you."

Bella still didn't relax though. I didn't think I was that tense, but maybe Bella was able to really notice how I felt. I had to relax right now and be myself, I could try to figure out what the dog was up to later. I grabbed Bella's bag for her before she could get it. She gave me a look that plainly told me she could carry her own bag, but I carried it anyway. She did not need to be weighed down by anything while she greeted her father.

"Welcome home, kid!" Charlie shouted enthusiastically as soon as we stepped in the door. "How was Jacksonville?"

"Moist. And buggy."

"So Renee didn't sell you on the University of Florida?" he joked.

"She tried. But I'd rather drink water than inhale it."

Charlie was very happy to see Bella home and safe, so he was reluctantly grateful towards me. He felt now was a good time to try to be polite. "Did you have a nice time?"

"Yes. Renee was very hospitable." My voice may have sounded smooth, but inside I still felt troubled and suspected something was about to happen. Why couldn't I forget about Jacob?

"That's. . . um, good. Glad you had fun," Charlie said unwillingly. He put me out of his mind and turned back to Bella, pulling her into a hug.

"Impressive," I heard Bella whisper.

"I really missed you, Bells. The food around here sucks when you're gone," he laughed.

"I'll get on it," she said.

"Would you call Jacob first? He's been bugging me every five minutes since six O' clock this morning. I promised I'd have him call you before you even unpacked."

Now I was sure Bella knew why I was acting like this. She wasn't stupid. I didn't even bother to try to cover my feelings. I became very still and quiet, wondering if I would get answers to my questions after Bella talked to him.

"Jacob wants to talk to me?" Bella seemed like she was being careful not to even look at, or pay any attention to me.

"Pretty bad, I'd say. He wouldn't tell me what it was about - just said it was important." Charlie finished speaking just before the phone rang. "That's him again, I'd bet my next paycheck,"

"I got it," she said as she ran into the kitchen. I followed behind her, I definitely did not want to miss this conversation. She picked up the phone and turned away from me, still ignoring me. "Hello?"

"You're back," Jacob said. My ears were able to hear both sides of the conversation.

"Yes," she answered, her voice sounded like it was becoming emotional. I tried to shove the jealous feelings away.

"Why didn't you call me?" His angry voice brought out some of my own anger. It wasn't his right to have Bella talk to him whenever he wanted her to. Didn't he know Bella had a life, and there could be other things she wanted to do once in a while.

"Because I've been in the house for exactly four seconds and your call interrupted Charlie telling me that you'd called."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Sure. Now why are you harassing Charlie?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, I figured out that part all by myself. Go ahead."

He seemed to hesitate. The wait made me more and more anxious to hear what he was going to say. It was not even a long wait, for a human, but to me it felt like an hour.

"You going to school tomorrow?"

That seemed like a strange question for him to ask. Now I felt even more suspicious.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Bella responded, sounding just as confused as I felt.

"I dunno, just curious."

Both ends of the conversation were silent for a moment. I waited, my body was motionless, and I noticed I had not been breathing. I silently took a deep breath, and Bella spoke before I exhaled.

"So what did you want to talk about Jake?"

"Nothing really, I guess I. . . wanted to hear your voice." Jacob stumbled over his words. I could usually figure people out even without reading their minds, and I had no doubt in my mind he was lying.

"Yeah, I know. I'm _so _glad you called me, Jake. I. . . "

I wondered what Bella had been about to say before she stopped. I couldn't see her face, because she was still facing the wall.

"I have to go," Jake said suddenly.

"What?"

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"But Jake -" Bella said as I heard the click followed by a dial tone.

"That was short," she mumbled.

I made sure I was hiding my anger as well as I could. I put my emotionless mask on, and spoke in a quiet smooth voice. "Is everything all right?" I asked her. I wondered if Bella knew something about all this than I didn't. I could only wish Jacob had just lost his mind. Maybe he had gone insane.

She slowly turned to face me, looking at me for the first time since she been home. Her soft brown eyes only showed confusion. "I don't know. I wonder what that was all about," she said in a voice that matched her expression.

"Your guess is probably better than mine." My thoughts went back to my insanity theory. I knew it wasn't very likely, but I could dream. I almost smiled at the thought.

"Mmm," she replied vaguely.

I studied my her face as she prepared dinner. I watched for her to show any understanding or idea what Jacob was thinking. If anyone would be able to figure it out it would be Bella. I had to admit she probably knew him better than a lot of people.

As she pulled out a package of frozen hamburger, I saw her expression suddenly change. She seemed to suddenly realize something, probably realize the reason Jacob had called. Her face was troubled, she was upset about something.

The frozen meat fell from her hands. I quickly caught it, put it on the counter, and wrapped my arms around her. "What's wrong?" I whispered in her ear.

She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she had realized. Her eyes almost looked terrified, they starred unfocused ahead, not looking at anything. She didn't answer me still, and I began to feel worried. Whatever she was thinking was really bothering her.

I shook her gently to snap her out of it. "Bella?" I asked as more calmly than I felt.

Her eyes finally focused and she looked at me, emotional pain was evident in her eyes. "I think. . . I think he was checking," she started in a dazed voice. "Checking to make sure. That I'm human I mean."

I immediately knew what she meant. I felt instant anger as I knew the significance to Jacob checking. My body stiffened involuntarily, and I couldn't stop an angry low hiss from escaping through my throat. If the wolves were going to plan a war after Bella was turned, I would make sure to keep her safe. I knew we would not be able to stay here.

"We'll have to leave,"she whispered my thoughts. "Before. So that it doesn't break the treaty. We won't ever be able to come back."

I tightened my arms around her, "I know."

My thoughts had been so focused on Bella and what would have to happen when she was turned I didn't even hear Charlie's thoughts until he was in the room with us. I caught words like _rude_ and _can't trust_ in his annoyed thoughts.

"Ahem," Charlie cleared his throat, announcing his presence and making Bella jump. She quickly pulled at my arms, and I dropped them and leaned back against the counter. Bella's cheeks began to get red, and she almost blushed. On different circumstances I might have smiled or chuckled, but I was still feeling too concerned about Bella's future, and angry at Jacob.

Charlie was not impressed with the progress Bella was making with dinner. "If you don't feel like making dinner, I can call for a pizza."

"No, that's okay, I'm already started," Bella answered quickly.

"Okay," he said as he got comfortable to supervise the rest of dinner.

I didn't stay as long as I might have on another night. I was anxious to get home and hear what had happened this weekend with Victoria. Maybe she had been caught, and wouldn't be a threat anymore. I really wanted to find out, and I hoped it would be good news. So, around ten I quickly whispered a promise to Bella that I would be back later that night, and headed home.

When I got home I didn't even have to ask what happened, I could hear it. Everyone was remembering and thinking about the failed attempt to catch Victoria. I searched through Emmett's mind first. I saw him chasing her to the boundaries, he was excited, thrilled by this opportunity to have some fun. He had been really close, almost able to grab Victoria when one of the wolves, the big gray one, had jumped on him. Apparently this wolf, whoever he was, had thought Emmett was on wolf territory. I could see the exact location this had happened in Emmett's mind, and I agreed with Emmett that it was no one's territory, just unclaimed land.

I switched to Alice's perspective of the memory. She had not been able to see anything of the future, because the wolves were in the way. I could still hear her frustration from this. After the wolf had tackled Emmett, the chase after Victoria had been forgotten, and an argument started. The wolves tried to defend their member, Paul was his name, I heard Alice remember. Rosalie in particular was defending Emmett. It took both Carlilse and Jasper to settle things down, and by that time Victoria was long gone.

I gathered all this information before I even entered the house. I sighed as I came in the door and looked at everyone's defeated expressions.

_I hate those stupid wolves, I almost had her_ Emmett thought furiously.

_Sorry she was able to get away_ Alice thought to me.

"I guess you will just have to continue watching carefully for her, Alice," I said, a bit more optimistic than I felt. "At least nothing worse has happened."

"Except I am a little worried the wolves are still mad about the whole thing," Carlisle informed me. "They are still sure that Emmett stepped on Quileute territory."

"Even after I had calmed everyone down, the wolves were still very angry, and refused to just drop the matter," Jasper agreed quietly.

I shook my head frustradedly and hoped the wolves would just forget about the whole thing, and not do anytihng stupid. Hopefully we would be able to stop Victoria soon. Before something really bad happened. . .


	6. Stressful Argument

**I'm sorry it took me so incredibly long to finally update again. I still really am planning to continue this story (and fix any parts that need fixing). Please keep up the reviews, they really help me to know what needs to be fixed and what is good. As always, I want to say a huge thanks to anyone who has already reviewed. I'm am hoping to start updating a little more regularly now.**

* * *

"I guess you really don't want to live in Jacksonville with your mom," I said lightly after Bella stepped in my car and buckled. I drove at my usual speed, hoping she wouldn't complain, heading to school for the morning.

She gave me a confused look. "I've already told you I don't want to leave Forks. I'd rather be with you," she answered seriously.

"Last night, you mumbled something about not wanting to live in Florida at least four times," I explained with a laugh. I remembered her peaceful sleep as she mumbled out reasons to stay in Forks.

Bella's face now showed understanding to my sudden statement. "I guess convincing Renee I want to stay here was on my mind last night," she admitted with a grin.

My responding chuckle was cut short as I heard Jacob's thoughts.

_Can't wait to see the look on that bloodsucker's face when he sees me here. It's almost a shame I decided to pick a place with witnesses to talk to him, it means I can't also get the satisfaction of beating him to a pulp._

My hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel, as I fought to control my anger. I couldn't believe he had come to the school. That must have been why he'd called last night, he wanted to make sure we would be coming. I just wished Bella wouldn't have to see him.

"If I asked you to do something, would you trust me?" I asked her, hoping the answer could just be a simple yes. But I had a bad feeling that I knew nothing could ever be simple with Bella.

I tried to keep myself calm as I felt her eyes search over me. But I knew I was not doing a good job. Her pulse quickened as she looked at my tense body and furious expression.

Then I saw Jacob's memory of Emmett crossing over our lines, but not yet in Quileutes' territory, as he chased Victoria. A large grey wolf, that Jacob thought of as Paul, became angry. An argument started between the wolves and my family, and Victoria was long gone. The memory faded.

_If one of those leeches ever crosses the line again, the treaty will be broken. I don't care what doctor blood says._

I understood everything now. Jacob had come to give me a warning about crossing lines again. I wished he would just leave, and realize I already heard his thoughts. Or better yet, just drop the whole thing, because the treaty wasn't broken and it wasn't that big of a problem.

"That depends," Bella answered my question as we pulled into the parking lot.

I could see Jacob conspicuously parked on the sidewalk. His tall body and large black motorcycle stuck out like a sore thumb among the other students and old vehicles. It would only be a few seconds before Bella would spot him.

"I was afraid you would say that." Jacob could be dangerous to Bella, and Bella was a magnet for danger. It was only natural she would want to be near that danger.

"What do you want me to do, Edward?" she asked suspiciously.

I knew Bella would want to come out of the car as soon as she saw Jacob. I decided to try anyway. "I want you to stay in the car." My car was now parked in its usual spot. "I want you to wait here until I come back for you." It wasn't too hard of a request was it?

"But . . . _why_?" she questioned.

I watched as her confused face quickly turned into surprise and understanding. I fought to keep myself from groaning, I was sure she spotted him.

"Oh," was all she said. All my earlier actions surely made since to her now.

"You jumped to the wrong conclusions last night," I quietly explained to her, keeping my voice as calm as possible. Maybe if she knew why he was here, she wouldn't want to see him as badly. I was holding my breath, hoping Bella would choose the easier decision. "He asked about school because he knew that I would be where you were. He was looking for a safe place to talk to me. A place with witnesses."

"I'm not staying in the car," she announced, killing my hopes.

I couldn't keep myself from groaning this time. "Of course not. Well, lets get this over with." Now my only hope was for this to go quickly, with no problems.

I took Bella's warm hand gently as we approached Jacob. The warmth in my hand would help me to stay calm and rational.

_I still can't believe she _thinks_ she loves him._ He was getting angrier, focusing on our hands wrapped together. Jacob's thoughts weren't the only ones I heard.

_That guy is giving me the creeps._

_Look how huge he is. I bet he could tear Cullen apart._

_I hope we get to see a fight. They both look so angry. This could be exciting._

_He's hot, if he didn't look so scary, I would totally ask him out._

Several other students were gathered around, making a space for us. I stopped when I was far enough away from them that they wouldn't be able to hear me. But this meant we were also close enough to Jacob that it made me uncomfortable for Bella's safety. His awful smell was very strong here, but I ignored it. I pulled Bella a little behind me, hoping to keep her safe.

_You are ridiculous. Do you really think I'm dangerous to her? You certainly have more chance of hurting her than I do. _

I ignored his thoughts. "You could have called." Could have kept everyone around here safe, including Bella.

"Sorry," he sneered. I could hear his mind was just the opposite though. "I don't have any leeches on my speed dial."

"You could have reached me at Bella's house, of course," my voice was dripping with acid.

He didn't respond out loud, but he still answered in his thoughts. _But then I wouldn't have been able to see the look on your face right now. I really wanted to be able to talk to you in person._

"This is hardly the place, Jacob. Could we discuss this later?"

"Sure, sure. I'll stop by your crypt after school. What's wrong with now?"

I couldn't believe he honestly did not see the problem with having this discussion here. I looked around at all the innocent by-standers. I knew Jacob was careless and thoughtless, but he had to figure out what the problem was.

_Do you still think _I'm _dangerous. If you think you can be around all these people safely, then so can I._

If it had not been for Bella's hand still enclosed in mine, I would have lost my temper right there. He was not going to make this easy at all. I really did not want Bella to find out that Victoria had just been searching for her. I hoped I could get Jacob away before he somehow let Bella know about everything I had been trying to keep a secrete from her.

"I already know what you came to say," I spoke in such a quiet voice I hoped Bella couldn't hear me. "Message delivered. Consider us warned." And get away from me, these innocent students, and especially Bella. I quickly glanced at her, hoping she hadn't heard.

"Warned?" she questioned.

I cursed at myself mentally, she had obviously heard me.

"What are you talking about?"

Before I could answer her, Jacob spoke. "You didn't tell her," he asked me, disbelief visible on his face. "What, were you afraid she'd take our side?"

How could he not understand. Bella did not need to worry about these problems. There were other things she needed to think about. "Please drop it, Jacob," I worked to keep my voice emotionless.

"Why?" Jacob said rudely out loud. Then he went back to communicating to me with thoughts. _Why should I do anything you tell me to do? You are the worst possible person, or should I say monster, to be anywhere near Bella. I don't know why she stays with you . . ._

"What don't I know?" Bella distracted my thoughts slightly from Jacob's mental rant.

I didn't answer, it took almost everything I had in me to control my emotions right now as Jacob's thoughts continued to pound on me.

"Edward?" she tried again to get my attention.

"Jacob?" she asked, abruptly stopping his thoughts.

He looked at her, still unable to believe she didn't know. "He didn't tell you that his big . . . _brother_ crossed the line Saturday night?"

I saw the same memory repeated. Once again I saw the wolf called Paul let his temper flare at Emmett, and start to attack. Then Jasper was there, calming everyone down. the memory stopped as Jacob spoke to me again.

"Paul was totally justified in-"

I cut him off before he could finish, "That was no-man's land!"

"Was not!" he shot back His temper began to boil over. All his thoughts were becoming incoherent through his anger. I could see his body trembling with rage. I felt dread spread through my body as he was about to transform. I prepared to move Bella to safety, then defend all the other students who would be in danger. Then he stopped himself, took some deep breaths, and calmed himself down. I was about to tell him to leave again, hoping he now saw the danger, but Bella's words once again changed my thought process.

"Emmett and Paul?" She was only whispering. "What happened? Were they fighting?" Her panic made her voice louder and strained. I heard her pulse begin to race and her breathing became slightly uneven and faster. "Why? Did Paul get hurt?"

All my thoughts were now back to her. Jacob could have burst into flames and I wouldn't have noticed or cared. It hurt me to see her panicked. "No one fought. No one got hurt." I quietly tried to calm her. "Don't be anxious."

"You didn't tell her anything at all, did you?" Jacob's skeptical questions brought out my temper again. "Is that why you took her away? So she wouldn't know that-?"

"Leave now." I cut him off. I could hardly see through my anger. He was going to tell her everything I had worked hard to keep her mind safe from. I hated Jacob, loathed him, If there weren't hundreds of people here, if I wasn't trying to keep myself from being a monster, if my hand wasn't holding Bella's hand, I would be annihilating him.

Jacob only raised his eyebrows at me. "Why haven't you told her?"

I was seething. This had to be the stupidest dog-brained mutt on the planet. He _still _didn't understand.

Again, my anger diminished as Bella began to hyperventilate. I could feel her entire body cool down, as blood drained from her face. Her hand trembled against mine. "She came back for me," she gasped.

I could almost feel Bella's pain. I had to try to calm her down. I kept myself between her and Jacob as I wrapped my arms around her. I gently stroked her face, and it shocked me how much colder her skin felt than usual. "It's fine," I whispered to her. "It's fine. I'll never let her get close to you, it's fine." The only change I noticed was her breathing evened out a little bit.

_Good, she found out anyway._ Jacob thought smugly.

I glared at him, "Does this answer your question, mongrel?" I had to keep reminding myself to keep my voice low enough so the curious students couldn't hear.

"You don't think she Bella has a right to know? It's her life."

"Why should she be frightened when she was never in danger?"

"Better frightened than lied to." he argued.

Tears were running down Bella's face. My warm, trusting, gentle, brave Bella. I hated seeing her hurt like this. I wiped her tears from her cheek.

"Do you really think hurting her is better than protecting her?" I muttered quietly.

"She's tougher than you think," Jacob responded. "And she's been through worse." _been through worse pain that _you _caused her to go through for months._

I didn't see the tearful frightened Bella in front of me, but instead I saw a Bella who had been hurt beyond my belief. Jacob was remembering how he'd seen Bella right after I left. I felt myself cringe when I saw her lifeless brown eyes and her dead expression. It was worse to see because I knew I had caused this. Even though this image was just a memory, it was clear. I could see every detail of depression plain in Bella's body.

"That's funny," Jacob said. I noticed he was studying my pained expression.

I winced at the satisfaction Jacob was getting from my reaction. I worked to rearrange my expression. Jacob's memory of Bella disappeared, but it continued to stay planted dimly in my mind.

Bella had noticed my discomfort. "What are you doing to him?" she demanded from Jacob. At least she was a bit more distracted now from her own fear. I could feel her skin temperature raising again.

"It's nothing, Bella. Jacob just has a good memory, that's all," I explained vaguely. Now that Bella was beginning to return to normal, I didn't want her to get anxious for my sake.

I saw the smug grin return to Jacob's face just before the same memory returned in full detail. I couldn't stop myself from wincing again.

"Stop it! Whatever you're doing," Bella pleaded with Jacob.

"Sure, if you want," he said disinterestedly, shrugging his shoulders. "It's his own fault if he doesn't like the things I remember though."

I grimaced, knowing he was right. Bella didn't notice thankfully, because she was still glaring at Jacob.

_All these kids, gathered around wasting time. Should probably go chase them to their classes._ I could hear the annoyed thoughts from Mr. Greene. He was looking at the group of students through a window.

"The principal is on his way to discourage loitering on school property," I warned Bella. "Let's get to English, Bella, so you're not involved.

"Overprotective, isn't he?" Jacob spoke to Bella. "A little trouble makes life fun. Let me guess, you're not allowed to have fun, are you?"

I bit back a snarl. When Bella got into any kind of trouble, fun or not, it almost always meant danger. I wanted her to be safe.

Shut up, Jake," Bella snapped.

Jacob laughed. "That sounds like a _no_. Hey if you ever feel like having a life again, you could come see me. I've still got your motorcycle in my garage."

I was almost going to say Bella was not going to do something as dangerous as riding a motorcycle, but something stopped me. I realized if I said this I was going to sound like some kind of parent, I did not want to be that boring and restricting. Jacob was at least a little right. His thoughts about riding motorcycles looked like fun. I decided to stay out of this, and let Bella finish this conversation with Jacob.

"You were supposed to sell that. You promised Charlie you would." Bella's face softened from her surprise.

"Yeah, right. Like I would do that. It belongs to you, not me. Anyway, I'll hold onto it until you want it back."

"Jake . . ," Bella started.

"I think I might have been wrong before, you know, about not being able to be friends. Maybe we could manage it, on my side of the line. Come see me."

I still had my arm around Bella from when I tried to comfort her. I could feel her muscles pushing unconsciously toward Jacob. Bella quickly glanced at my face. She knew she was not going to be able to go there.

"I, er, don't know about that, Jake," she said uncertainly.

Jacob was being very careful to ignore me. "I miss you everyday, Bella. It's not the same without you."

Bella' sounded very sad when she responded,"I know and I'm sorry, Jake, I just . . ."

She didn't finish as Jacob shook his head and sighed. "I know. Doesn't matter, right? I guess I'll survive or something. Who needs friends?" He was being a bit over-dramatic. But I could tell he was sad and lonely, and Bella missed him too. But, I still was not strong enough to let her go yet. I silently promised Bella and myself again that I would be able to let her go someday.

Bella pushed against my arms a little more, but I still gently and selfishly held her back.

"Okay, get to class." Mr. Greene had finally come out of the building and was now chasing the mob away. Unfortunately we were still in the middle of it.

"Get to school, Jake," Bella whispered.

I didn't want Bella to still be talking to Jacob when the principal saw him. I was sure Jacob wouldn't look like a very good student to him, and I didn't want Bella to be associated with him in any way. I let go of her and just held her hand then pulled her behind me again.

"I mean it. Detention for anyone who's still standing here when I turn around again," Mr. Greene threatened. The group of curious students finally backed away.

After the wall of people was gone, Mr. Greene was able to see Jacob. His thoughts about Jacob confirmed my guess about what his opinions would be. he kept most of his attention towards me. "Ah, Mr. Cullen. Do we have a problem here?"

"Not at all, Mr. Greene. We were just on our way to class," I answered.

"I don't seem to recognize your friend." He turned his attention to Jacob. "Are you a new student here?" _I really hope you aren't, or the teachers may have a lot of trouble on their hands._

"Nope."

"Then I suggest you remove yourself from school property at once, young man, before I call the police."

Jacob's grin widened. I could see the image of Charlie showing up to arrest Jacob. _That would be interesting, wouldn't it?_ His thoughts were sarcastic.

I agreed with Jacob. I would love to see Bella's father arrest Jacob.

_This guy might as well work at a boot camp. _"Yes, sir," Jacob said as he saluted._ He's worse than any teacher I have._ With that he got on his bike and drove off.

_These kids have no respect for adults anymore. I hope I won't have to see him again._ Mr. Greene grumbled mentally as he mashed his teeth. He turned back to me, "Mr. Cullen, I expect you to ask your friend to refrain from trespassing again."

Ugh, I couldn't imagine being friends with the mutt. "He's no friend of mine, Mr. Greene, but I'll pass along the warning."

_I guess I can believe him, I've never heard of even the slightest trouble with any of the Cullens._ "I see. If your worried about any trouble, I'd be happy to-"

"There's nothing to worry about, Mr. Greene. There won't be any trouble." I wouldn't let Jacob do something like this again. I was still angry about how he frightened Bella.

"I hope that's correct. Well, then. On to class. You too, Miss Swan."

I nodded, thankful Bella didn't end up in trouble for something she didn't do. I pulled her along to English, glad that whole thing was finally over.

"Do you feel well enough to go to class," I whispered as soon as we were out of hearing range. She looked better, there was some color in her face, but it still wasn't quite right. Her pulse was still a bit faster than normal too.

"Yes," she whispered. I wasn't sure if I completely believed her or not, but I let it go.

Mr. Berty ignored us as we entered class late and took our seats. I watched as Bella pulled out a sheet of paper. I should have known she wasn't going to forget about this.I was already able to read what she wrote before she passed the paper to me.

_**What happened? Tell me **__**everything**__**. And screw the protecting me crap, please.**_

I sighed and wrote my response.

_Alice saw that Victoria was coming back. I took you out of town merely as a precaution- there was never a chance _

_that she would have gotten anywhere close to you. Emmett and Jasper very nearly had her, but Victoria seems to have_

_some instinct for evasion. She escaped right down the Quileutes' boundary line as if she were reading it from a map. It didn't_

_help that Alice's abilities were nulified by the Quileutes' involvement. To be fair, the Quileutes' might have had her, too, if we _

_hadn't gotten in the way. The big gray one thought Emmett was over the line, and he got defensive. Of course Rosalie reacted _

_to that, and everyone left the chace to protect their companions. Carlisle and Jasper got things calmed down before they got out_

_of hand. But by then, Victoria had slipped away. That's everything._

I passed the paper back, and as Bella wrote I quickly scribbled all the English notes Mr. Berty had used so far. I could see him glance at us every now and then, and he was starting to get suspicious. I had the notes written before Bella finished reading my responce. She erased what I wrote for more room. Than began to write,

_**What about Charlie? She could have been after him.**_

I shook my head. Charlie had not been in any danger. Victoria was only after Bella, and besides Alice had been watching for any signs that Victoria would try to get Charlie. I held out my hand so I could write that for her, but she ignored me and wrote more.

_**You can't know she wasn't thinking that, because you weren't here. Florida was a bad idea.**_

I swiped the paper quickly from her before she could ignore my request again. I tried to distract her.

_I wasn't about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive._

I knew this wasn't what she meant. But as she read (I also continued to write down notes), I could see she was getting distracted.

_**So let's say my bad luck did crash the plane. What exactly were **__**you**__** going to do about it?**_

This was becoming fun. I tried to hide my smile as I wrote.

_Why is the plane crashing?_

_**The pilots passed out drunk.**_

That was the best she could come up with?

_Easy. I'd fly the plane._

_**Both engines have exploded and we're falling in a death spiral toward the earth.**_

Now this was a bit more complicated and imaginative.

_I'd wait till we were close enough to the ground, get a good grip on you, kick out the wall, and jump. Then I'd run you back to the scene of the accident, and _

_we'd stumble around like the two luckiest survivors in history._

I tried not to laugh as I passed it back. With lightning speed caught up on the English notes. After Bella finished reading she starred at me.

"What," I whispered.

She shook her head. "Nothing," she mouthed. Her mind was back on track and she erased my last few sentences and wrote on more thing.

_**You **__**will**__** tell me next time.**_

I looked into her eyes, debating weather I wanted to agree to that or not. She had been so panicked when she found out, and I hated to see her like that. Even now her eyelashes were still wet from crying, there were tear stains on her face, and all the color and warmth had not returned yet. But I didn't like keeping secrets from her either, I wanted her to have a reason to trust me. I sighed, and nodded.

_**Thanks.**_

_Passing notes in class. I should stop this right now. _Mr. Berty finally gave into his suspicions and was headed over to tell us off. I grabbed the paper from Bella fast enough that he couldn't see.

"Is there something you'd like to share there, Mr. Cullen?"

I held up the notes I had been writing. "My notes," I said trying to sound as innocent and confused as I could.

He skimmed through my notes, and was shocked to see perfect copy of his lecture.

He walked away, unsatisfied. _I could have sworn they were having their own conversation back there. I think I really need more sleep._

The rest of the day was very uneventful compared to this morning. I did my best to ignore all the gossip, betting, and assumptions that was on everyone's minds, and it was what everyone was talking about. I tried to make myself forget about it, forget that Jacob had ever come. But I was not looking foward to the look of panick Bella would show again when I had to tell her the next time Victoria was coming to get her. I qietly sighed at the thought, as my mind numbingly boring and tedious day continued.


	7. Sudden Decision

**I have been very mad at myself for not updating. I still plan to complete this someday, so I'm hoping to do a better job and update more often. I'm really sorry to anyone who has wanted me to update months ago. **

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**Chapter 7 sudden decision **

I now was sure I knew why I had not wanted to tell Bella about Victoria. She had not stopped worrying about it all week. I had tried to promise her so many times that she would be fine. I would never let Victoria even look at her, but she still worried anyway.

Even worse, now all she could think about was becoming a soulless, blood sucking monster. For some reason she thought we would be better off if she could help us against Victoria. She was always so eager for eternal damnation.

She had begged me several times to turn her into a monster like I was. An ambition she had because of me. As always the thought of her as a thirsty dead cold newborn vampire made me cringe internally. But I had found the way to prolong the moment I would have to see her like that. It was the answer I had been telling her every time she pleaded with me.

"That's between you and Carlisle," I told her after she asked me to change her for the dozenth time during the week. "Of course you know that I'm willing to make it between you and me at any time you wish. You know my condition."

I tried to keep my smile innocent as I could see her face turn from pleading to frustration. The obvious sign that she knew my condition, and she was not willing to go through with it to get her hasty desire. At least not yet. Her becoming my fiance was probably the only condition I could have found to slow her down. I was so glad I had discovered it.

The worst part of all over the week was not only that she was just asking me about the topic, but she was going to the rest of my family as well, trying to get somebody else to take her side.

Carlisle and Esme both gave her answers of reassurance and encouragement. They both knew as well as I did that rushing this decision would not help much. It would make Bella feel better in the short run, but over time she would find it to be a bad choice.

Emmett had been finding her amusing. Rosalie found her more aggravating. She could not understand how Bella could just throw away her life and future like it was nothing. I knew Rosalie would have given almost anything to have the future and opportunities Bella had.

After Bella failed to get Carlisle, Esme, or Emmett to agree with her, she insisted on going to talk to Alice and Jasper. So feeling like I could see the future almost as well as Alice at the moment I followed her into Alice and Jasper's bedroom.

As soon as we had walked in the room Bella opened her mouth to repeat her request, but Alice cut her off.

"I already know what you are going to ask," she said in an exasperated voice. "Even if I couldn't see the future, I've heard you ask four times already downstairs." She threw a quick glance at me that Bella probably didn't see. _She really doesn't give up easily does she?_

I tried not to chuckle as Bella continued to show her determination. "Well since you know what I'm going to ask, you must know it would be a good idea for me to be able to help you guys against Victoria," Bella pressed hopefully.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm offended. You're not honestly _worried_ about this are you?"

"If it's no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida?" she argued. I heard her heart beat faster, and her body temperature increased as she realized her last hopes in Alice taking her side were not going to happen.

"Haven't you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teeniest bit prone to overreaction." Alice responded. She flashed another quick look at me, this time it was accusatory, as she remembered trying to convince me to not hide anything from Bella right after she had seen Victoria coming.

I tried not to grimace or make any retort back at Alice. I had told her it was an extra precaution. I also did not want to end up where we were now, with Bella more intent to bring herself farther from humanity than she already was.

Jasper, picking up on all the frustration and tension at that moment, and soon had everyone feeling peaceful and relaxed. "Just relax," Jasper said, as if Bella had a choice at the moment. "You shouldn't worry about all this right now. Don't you have enough other things to worry about?"

Sometimes I was annoyed with Jasper's ability, but today I appreciated it. It had prevented a lot of arguing, and I could tell Bella was not going to argue the matter anymore at that second. I didn't need to be able to read her mind to see it in her face, or hear her heart rate lower slightly or feel the very slight cooling of her skin as she relaxed.

Bella nodded and sighed in defeat. I muttered a quick thanks to Jasper, low enough that I was sure Bella couldn't hear.

Jasper grinned at me," You should come hunting with Emmett and me this tomorrow," he said to me. "Alice has already told us there is no immediate danger."

I imagined going to the mountains like we used to hunt every once in a while. I was very thirsty, and going out with my brothers for a day or two was almost always a really good time. But I still felt hesitant. For one thing, leaving this area for a hunting trip was not as fun as it used to be. My favorite place was now wherever Bella was, but obviously there were several reasons not to bring her with us. Another reason was how I still did not trust Bella to seek out the Jacob. In fact I was almost certain she would try to see that mutt again.

Alice knew me very well, and had a pretty good idea what I was thinking about. _I would be able to keep an eye on Bela for you. You wouldn't have to worry about her._

I hesitated, throwing a quick glance at Bella. I hated leaving her, it always made me feel so uneasy. "Thanks for the offer," I said to both of them. "I'll think about it."

I gently took Bella's hand and we walked out of the room. I already had just about decided I was not going to go, when Emmett found us.

"I heard Jazz ask you to come with us," he said grinning. "You are coming right?" _Because if you're not, you know Jasper and I will still force you to._ his grin was turning evil, his eyes sparkled playfully.

I hesitated. I did not want to say yes and go hunting, and I was trying to think of what to say to get him and Jasper to let me stay. Emmett was not going to make this easy.

"You should go," Bella interjected. "Go have fun. Bag a few mountain lions for me."

"See Edward it's settled. Bella has the right idea. I love it when she is around," Emmett chuckled victoriously. "We are leaving sometime tonight. It'll be nice to have you with us." He ran back to the living room with Rose before I could argue.

It did seem decided though. I was not able to argue with Bella as easily as I could with my brothers. She kept insisting I should go. Of course she had noticed the color of my eyes, I knew she wasn't stupid. But I worried she didn't want me to go. I knew it was typical for Bella to put everyone else before herself.

That night I spent my last few hours before our trip in Bella's bedroom. I watched as she drifted into sleep, only after she had my word I would go with my brothers when they wanted to leave. After about two hours she began to mumble, and by the next hour she had softly said my name a couple times. Each time I heard my name spoken softly and unconsciously from her, it still gave me a feeling that made me sure if my heart still worked it would be hammering in my chest.

She was so peaceful there. Another hour went by, and I stayed with her, waiting until they came to leave. Her breathing relaxed and even, her heart steady and rhythmic. I focused on the sound, dreading the day it would never thump again. It was that moment I heard my brothers approaching.

_You better be coming out, or we will drag you out. I'm sure Bella wouldn't be happy about that._ I knew Emmett was serious. I cringed at how well that would go over with Bella, and Charlie for that matter.

I still hated to leave her, but I had already promised her that I would go. I zipped down the stairs and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen near the phone. I quickly wrote a quick note, and zipped back to her room, gently set the note next to her pillow, and soundlessly and carefully and touched my lips to her cheek. I was very careful not to wake her, as I felt her warmth and smelled her sweet smell. I smiled as even in her sleep her heart unconsciously picked up speed slightly.

I gave one last look at her. The note beside her was the truth. **I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me. Look after my heart - I've left it with you**. I left as her own heart gradually returned back to it's usual rate, then jumped out the window quickly, Emmett and Jasper were getting impatient.

"Bout time," Emmett grumbled. His mind was imagining a big wrestling match. A free for all between the three of us. In his mind Emmett had Jasper and me on the on the ground, while he stood over us, the clear winner.

"Only in your dreams," I sighed. It seemed a wrestling match was going to be inevitable.

Jasper only smiled and turned to lead the way towards the mountains. As Emmett and I followed I couldn't help but notice how I was suspiciously becoming more and more excited for this hunting trip. But even with Jasper's ability I still could not shake the uneasy feeling I had about leaving.

The run was pleasant though. A long fast run was always good to take my mind off things. Trees speed by, animals sensing our approach and running to hide, scents everywhere ranging from various flowers to different small animals, made stronger by the light mist that was had begun falling and was gradually turning into a light rain. The sun was raising, giving an orange glow through the clouds. The start of a new day.

After two hours of running we were nearly to our destination. We had gone many miles in a short amount of time no car could possibly make. My thoughts were still back in Forks though. Why was I so worried?

I thought through Bella's schedule. I knew she had to go to work, then she was going to Angela's, to help make announcements for graduation. Alice was there and keeping an eye on things. There really shouldn't be anything to worry about . . .

Just then my phone vibrated. I stopped dead ad pulled it out. Jasper and Emmett noticed this and stopped too, both had weary expressions.

It only took two seconds for me to hear Alice say she couldn't see Bella anymore, and for me to reply that I was on my way back. I snapped the phone shut, apologized to my brothers, and ran at double speed back to Forks.

I felt myself completely beginning to panic as I left Jasper's calming and positive affect. This was what I had been dreading. I was in Forks in a little over an hour. Plenty of time for my thoughts to become almost irrational.

I ran home. I knew I couldn't run around Forks at vampire speed as I searched for Bella without giving anything away. Alice was waiting for me in the garage.

"I'm so sorry, Edward," she said miserably. "One second I saw her going home and studying, and the next she disappeared." I could see her searching the future for Bella, but there was nothing.

"It's not your fault," I growled half heatedly. Obviously Bella had made a quick decision. One of the only ways to get passed Alice.

I jumped into my Volvo and sped towards the treaty line. She had to be here, since Alice still could not see her. She had to be with Jacob. I rolled my window down and sniffed. Sure enough I could smell her truck's familiar scent.

My foot itched to the gas pedal. I was so close to just driving into wolf territory. Then I saw Carlisle in my mind. What would he think if I did that? How would a stupid impulsive selfish decision effect my entire family?

I took a deep breath, then drove my car off the road and hid myself in the trees. The sound of the rain was quieter, and everything was even more covered in shadow in an already sunless day. I tried to keep myself calm. The thought of her and Jacob alone together made me feel even colder than I already was.

I was worrying for Bella's safety I told myself. That was the only reason I felt like this. But I knew there was another reason I was acting like this. I knew there was another reason I heard myself involuntarily growl when the thought of Jacob and Bella came into my mind again.

I jumped out of my car, about to run on foot through the trees to Bella. But I didn't move again. I was being so ridiculous. I would wait here. She had been alone with Jacob before. I was going to keep my family safe.

Hours went by, leaving me with my worried and unhappy thoughts. Several times I was ready to run or drive passed the line to get Bella, but I stopped myself. Finally I could hear her truck in the distance. By this point I was furious not only with Bella, but at myself. At how I was acting so unreasonable, and how I had almost put my entire family into jeopardy several times because of my selfishness.

As soon as her truck had passed the line, I zoomed out behind her. She didn't stop or slow down, and I only continued to glare ahead of me. She took a different road than the one she would normally take home, and I continued to furiously follow close behind.

She stopped at Angela Weber's house. It was only then that I finally remembered her plans to spend the evening here. I didn't think it would be a good idea to start an argument here, especially when I was supposed to be hiking. I continued to drive passed her. I turned to give her an angry look, but she had her head down, refusing to look at me.

I just drove back to my house. I parked my car and went on foot to Bella's house. It didn't seem like I good idea to have my car there for Charlie to see, but I was going to wait for her at her house. Without a sound I leaped through her window and stood next to the wall to wait. She would be coming home eventually, and I would be able to talk to her then.


	8. Stubborn and Determined

**I've recently had a couple really nice messages and reviews from people which is what really has pushed me to continue this. I've been frustrated with this chapter and it doesn't feel like it came out the way I anted, but I am going to try continuing anyway. Thanks for all the reviews, they really do mean a lot to me. **

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Standing still and quiet in Bella's room wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be. Sure it should have been easy because I was a vampire. Standing perfectly still for hours was something that came naturally.

But that was only without listening to Charlie's jubilant thoughts about Jacob and Bella getting together. I could vaugely see some of his memory of Billy's phone call to happily inform him Bella had gone to visit Jacob. He kept hoping I would be gone for good, and he wouldn't have to worry about Bella abruptly leaving him because of me for a third time.

The worst part about his thoughts was, as always, I knew he was right. I couldn't help but to think and dread about the day Bella would suddenly cease to be alive and leave Charlie forever.

There was also my own thoughts. I still felt so mad at myself. I knew very well what jeleosy felt like, but I still couldn't admit that was what I was feeling to myself or Bella. I kept telling myslef I was worried for Bella's safety. Jacob, and all those dogs, were dangerous.

If all that wasn't enough, there was also the fact that Bella's scent was all around me here. Her bed, her clothes, the computer, everything smelled like her. The weakened smell played with my throat, not quite burning it, but toying with my mind. It made me want to just run to Angela's and make Bella come home. But I knew that wouldn't help anything, and it certainly wouldn't help my inwardly directed anger for my selfishness.

So I just waited.

Finally I could hear the roar of her truck pull into the driveway. The engine stopped, headlights were turned off, the door opened then closed, and I heard Bella walk into the house.

"Bella?" Charlie called just before I heard the font door close.

"Hey, dad," she replied. I could hear her footsteps as she approached her father.

"How was your day?" he asked, even though he already knew about most of her day already.

"Good. They didn't need me at work, so I went down to La Push," she almost sounded cautious, or maybe that was my imagination since I knew we would be arguing soon.

"How's Jacob?" Charlie asked, envisioning Bella and Jacob together, with me out of the picture. He forced his voice to be casual, trying not to let Bella guess what he was thinking and wishing to happen.

I felt my fists clench. I noticed I wasn't breathing either. I took a deep breath, trying to relax, inhaling Bella's scent.

"Good," Bella answered. Her voice was like Charlie's, as if she was trying not to let him understand something else she was feeling.

I wondered what she was feeling.

"You get over to the Webers'?" he asked.

She was probably apprehensive. She probably knew I was here waiting to talk to her.

"Yep. We got all her announcements addressed." Her voice was still hiding emotions.

She should feel angry. Angry at me, at what a selfish creature I was. Angry about how I still wasn't ready to let her go.

"That's nice. I'm glad you spent time with your friends today."

"Me too."

I heard her rummaging in the kitchen for a minute, then she sat. I wanted her just to come up here, and at the same time I did not want her to come up. I was still mad, and I didn't think it was fair for me to be mad at her. I knew most of my anger was still at myself.

"I'm going to go study," I heard Bella reluctantly say to her father.

"See you later," he called back.

I could hear her slow footsteps coming up to her room.

I had abandoned my brothers when we were about to have a good time, I had snapped at my sister when she had only offered to help, and now I was about to get mad at Bella. I was not helping myself to calm down.

The door opened and Bella walked in. Immediately the stench of werewolves hit me like a ton of bricks. It took a fair amount of self discipline to not gag or wrinkle my nose at the least. I didn't move though, and I tried to calm myself. The awful smell was not making this easy.

Bella turned to face me. I didn't change my expression or move. She stood at the door looking apprehensively at me. I wondered who would move or talk first. If it was going to me it would take a few minutes for me to get a grip on myself.

"Hi," she said quietly and timidly.

I didn't know what to say. I still didn't move, change my expression or make any change outwardly. Only my thoughts were racing through my mind. I was about to get mad at Bella for giving me so little reason to trust her, and at the same time I wanted to leave until I could calm down, but I also wanted to simply end this discomfort hold Bella in my arms and apologize for being so overprotective and jealous.

"Er . . . so, I'm still alive," she spoke quietly again, bringing me out of my conflicting thoughts.

I felt myself growl. At myself because I was putting Bella in this awkward tough position between myself and Jacob, or because Bella always seemed do ready to believe she was never in any danger, I wasn't sure. I still didn't know why I was so angry. I wasn't thinking straight yet.

"No harm done," she persisted, shrugging her shoulders a little defiantly at my reaction

Her voice stronger this time broke me from my thoughts for a few minutes. I noticed the smell was giving me a headache. I closed my eyes and pinched my nose. I felt a little bit more in control.

"Bella," I began in a whisper," Do you have _any_ idea how close I came to crossing the line today? To breaking the treaty and coming after you? Do you know what that would have meant?"

This was not what I had wanted to say to her. These were things I wanted somebody to yell at me for.

I heard her gasp, making my eyes fly open automatically.

"You can't!" she said. Then she lowered her voice, even though I didn't hear any change in Charlie's thoughts. "Edward, they'd use any excuse for a fight. They'd love that. You can't ever break the rules!"

I knew she was right, but the thought of starting a fight with Jacob right now was consuming my thoughts.

"Maybe they aren't the only ones who would enjoy fight," I said, still powered by my agitation.

"Don't you start," she shot back. "You made the treaty, you stick to it."

I was glad Bella was sticking up for herself. This was what I needed, Jacob always was best at getting me worked up. I still wasn't ready to relax yet.

"If he'd hurt you . . ."

"Enough," she said sharply. "There's nothing to worry about. Jacob is not dangerous."

"Bella." I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. Bella would tell anyone _I_ wasn't dangerous, even though I obviously was. She had spent the entire time I knew her not recognizing danger if it leered in her face. "You aren't exactly the best judge of what is or isn't dangerous," I reminded her.

"I know I don't have to worry about Jake. And neither do you," she insisted.

I ground my teeth, tightened every muscle in my body, balled my fists. There was always some amount of physical danger for Bella. There was also the danger of Jacob taking Bella away from me.

She sighed and crossed the room. I ignored her as I felt her warm arms lightly wrap around my waist. I ignored her, still wishing Jacob were here so I could relieve some of my anger on him.

"I'm sorry I made you anxious," she mumbled.

If Jacob was the best living creature to get me worked up, Bella had to be the best at calming me down. I sighed, finally ready to relax. Bella's warm soft arms cut into my anger. I put my arms around her too.

"_Anxious_ is a bit of an understatement," I muttered calmly now. "It as a very long day."

"You weren't supposed to know about it. I thought you'd be hunting longer," she said looking up at me. I looked into her deep chocolate eyes.

I was about to tell her I would have been away longer if I had actually hunted. But she frowned in understanding at the color of my eyes. I knew I didn't have to tell her that. I didn't need to inform her that I didn't catch one animal. Instead she needed an explanation _why_ I hadn't hunted.

"When Alice saw you disappear, I came back," I said calmly.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now you'll have to go away again," she disapproved.

I knew she was right. My brothers were not going to be happy with me, they would make me come for another try. I couldn't deny I owed them that. But I wasn't going to say it had to be right away.

"I can wait," I said stubbornly. I was very thirsty, but for Bella and her safety I could go a very very long time without hunting.

"That s ridiculous. I mean, I know she couldn't see me with Jacob, but you should have known."

I was getting frustrated again, and I couldn't stop myself from restarting the argument with her. "But I didn't," I interrupted her. "And you can t expect me to let you _"

"Oh, yes, I can," she cut me off. "That s exactly what I expect"

"This won t happen again."

"That s right! Because you re not going to overreact next time."

"Because there isn't going to be a next time."

"I understand when you have to leave, even if I don t like it."

"That s not the same thing. I m not risking my life."

"Neither am I."

"Werewolves constitute a risk."

"I disagree."

This arguing was getting us no place. "I'm not negotiating this, Bella," I said, just wishing to end the argument now, and be able to enjoy my time with Bella again. "I really didn't want to argue anymore."

"Neither do I," she agreed. She seemed to be thinking about something from earlier. "Is this really just about my safety?" she asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't," she hesitated. "I mean, you know better than to be jealous, right?"

That caught me off guard. Somehow she had guessed right on the mark. I was not even ready to admit the jealous feelings I had been feeling to myself, let alone express them to Bella. "Do I?" I asked.

"Be serious," she said

"Easily, there's nothing remotely humorous about this."

She looked directly into my eyes again, "Or is this something else altogether? Some vampires-and-werewolves-are-always-enemies nonsense? Is this just a testosterone-fueled-"

"This is only about you. All I care is that you re safe." I said harshly. I stared back into her, making myself believe that statement as much as I wanted her to.

"Okay," she sighed. "I believe that. But I want you to know something when it comes to all this enemies nonsense, I m out. I am a neutral country. I am Switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures. Jacob is family. You are well, not exactly the love of my life, because I expect to love you much longer than that. The love of my existence. I don t care who's a werewolf and who s a vampire. If Angela turns out to be a witch, she can join the party, too."

I continued to look into her determined stubborn eyes eyes, and I felt the last of my anger dissipate. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say next.

"Switzerland," she repeated.

I realized I no longer felt angry at all. "Bella," I started. I could hardly stand this wet dog smell much longer. It was still giving me a bit of a headache.

"What now?" she said cautiously.

I smiled slightly, "Well don't be offended, but you smell like a dog."


End file.
